A new hire's first two weeks set the tone for years. Remote onboarding has to be intentional, because none of it happens by accident in a hallway.
Onboarding starts before day one
Ship the laptop, grant the access, and send a warm welcome before the first morning so nobody spends day one waiting on a password reset.
Give them a map
Clarity beats charisma
A written 30-60-90 plan tells a new hire what good looks like and removes the anxiety of guessing what they should be doing.
Pair them with people
- An onboarding buddy for daily questions
- A manager 1:1 in the first 48 hours
- Intro calls across the teams they'll work with
Build early wins
Find a small, shippable task for the first week. Nothing builds belonging like seeing your own work in production.
Close the loop
Ask how it went
A 30-day onboarding retro surfaces gaps while they're fresh — and shows new hires that their experience matters.
